This former Caterpillar standout may be the only Peorian to have a significant basketball career without playing either high school or college ball.

Only 5-foot-9 and skinny when he graduated from Spalding in 1943, having played only intramural ball, he joined the Caterpillar apprentice program, shot up to 6-foot-4 very quickly and played so well in the Cat plant league Diesel coach Marv Hamilton invited him to tryout for the big team.

Bill Dempsey quickly worked his way into the starting lineup and was a forward for the Diesels through the 1949-50 season when he was drafted into the U.S. Army.

At the end of the 1948-49 season he was voted the most valuable player of the District AAU Illinois tournament and played a key role in the Diesels finishing third in the National AAU tourney in Oklahoma City.

He was considered a strong candidate for the all-tournament team in the 1950 national tourney, but Caterpillar was ousted after three games.

Dempsey was out of the army in January 1952 and rejoined Caterpillar for the second half of the season that resulted in the Diesels winning their first national AAU title in Denver.

He played in the Olympic Trials tourney in New York after the AAU tournament and was named an alternate to the U.S. Olympic team for the 1952 games in Helsinki.

He later played on independent teams in Peoria and also played baseball and softball for may years, playing with the Caterpillar Tractors in the Sunday Morning League. He passed away late in 2002.

Illinois Central softball coach Lorene Ramsey, who has molded dozens of outstanding players in her long Cougar career, may have never had a player like Kim Hartzler of Washington.

An outstanding pitcher who finished last season with a 17-2 record and an ERA of 0.85 Hartzler also was the team's leading hitter with .477 average, a flock of extra base hits and 62 RBls.

"I've had some very versatile pitchers in the past, but I've never had a pitcher that hit almost .500," praised Ramsey.

Hartzler always had her bat in the lineup, playing third when not pitching. And she was no slouch there, either. "She's played third base for us in All-American fashion defensively," points out Ramsey.

"In my years involved with ICC softball, I have never seen one person be such an impact player offensively, pitching and defensively," says batting coach Rudy Rudolph.

"She can hit for singles or for power," points out Ramsey. "She's a tremendous RBI player."

Hartzler, who is now attending Eastern Illinois University, was selected along with teammate Brigit Cornish for the United States Junior College All-Star team that played in the Canada Cup tournament last season. She played every inning of all nine games.

In 1995 she also was named to the First Team All Regional; first team all regional tournament; Most Valuable Player NCAA regional tournament; first team National Softball Coaches Association All-American; first team National Junior College Athletic Association All-American.

Her .478 batting average at ICC last season was the highest average of any regular player in the 27-year history of the ICC softball program.